Collapsible tube closure



March 29, 1932. w ROSELLE 1,851,065

Q COLLAPSIBLE TUBE CLOSURE Filed Aug. 21, 1931 Walter ARoselle PatentedMar. 29,1932

WALTER A. OI I'JIEW YORK, N, Y.

conmrsmm ma cnosm Application flied August 21, 1931. Serial no. 558,477.

The usual type of tube containing commodities such as tooth aste creams,paints, etc. is provided with a detachable screw top. While this has theadvantage of cheapness and afiords a tight seal under ordinary circumstances, there is theeat disadvanta e that the cap being detac ableis frequent y lost or misplaced. Efl'orts have been made to. rovidevarious forms of valves and caps whlch were not detachable but so far asI am aware these devices all have the disadvantage of being expensive,cumbersome or difficult to operate. p

'I have sou ht, therefore, to provide a con struction which is not onlycheap to manufacture but compact and convement to use. I have especiallysought to provide a construction in which the valve may be operatedbybfingers of the same hand which holds the tu e. so A special objecthas been to provide a'construction from whichthe contents can besqueezed in exactly the same way as from thecommon type of tubeemploying the screw top.

To accomplish these desired results I have provided a very simple formof flexible the discharge orifice. This valye is housed within acap-like structure through the sides 'of which the operating finger,pieces for the slide valve protrude.

5 In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated three modificationsindicating the character of my invention.

Fig. 1 is an end view and partial trans} verse section showing one formof flexible 4o slide valve strip in the open position, the dischargeorifice being circular.

Fig. 2 is a side view of the end of the tube showmg the closure devicein section in the closed position.' Fig. 3 is a similar side view andpartial slide valve mounted on the neck of the tube. in such a way thatit can be easily operated. 30 by the tips of the fingers to open orclose' section taken at right angles to the position of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is an end view and partial section showing a modification with arectangular orifice in the open position.

Fig. 5 is a side view and artial section of the construction shown in ig. 4.

Figs. 6 and 7 are perspective views of the flexible slide valveshown inthe open and closed positions, respectively.

Fig. 8 is a erspective view of a flexible slide valve strip with twoforms oiorifices. Fig. 9 is a sectional view of a modified form ofdetachable neck constituting the support for a flexible slide valve.

The tube 10 may be of any suitable material or construction and isprovided with a neck 11 which may be integral therewith or detachabletherefrom and provided with an outlet passage 12 of any suitable crosssection.

The slide valve 13 is formed of a strip of flexible material such assheet metal, celluloid or other tenacious substance which is flexibleand preferablyof very slight, if any, resiliency.

This strip is sgrovided with an orifice 14 of any suitable ape or areadepending upon the cross section which it is desired the extrudedcontents of the tube shall have. This stripsnugly fits the oppositesides of the neck and for this purpose the neck may be providedwith-grooves such as 15, in which the ends of the strip slide. The outerend 16 of the neck is rounded ofi so that the valve strip 30 will slidesmoothly over it.

The opposite ends of the slide valve strip are provided with projectionssuch as 17 and 18 constituting finger pieces for operating the valve.Shoulders 19, 19 maybe provided to 5 act as stops to limit the movementof the finger pieces and the slide valve.

The slide valve is encased or held in place by a housing 20 which has anorifice 21 in line with the passage 12 in the neck of the tube.

This housing may be secured in lace in any suitable manner, as forinstance y means of the spun over or crimped lower edge 22. This housinghas slots 23 in the opposite sides for the finger pieces 17 and 18. hehousing should fit rather snugly so as to hold the shde valve in boththe open and closed positions; in other words, to prevent it fromaccidentally shifting its position.

Obviously the orifice 21 may be sealed if desired when the tube isshipped so as to give additional security against evaporation. The valveitself, however, provides all the security necessary for normal use.

To extrude some of the contents of the tube it is simply necessary topick up the tube in the usual manner and pull down on the finger piece17 so as to draw the strip across the end of the neck and open the valveand at the same time squeeze the tube. The contents will thus bedischarged inexact-1y the same manor as in the ordinary type ofcollapsible tu To close the valve it is simply necessary to pull down onthe finger piece 18 which draws the strip around the end of the neck andclose the discharge orifice.

In the form shown in Figs. 4 and 5 the neck 11a is substantiallyrectangular in cross section and the discharge orifices 12a, 14a and 21aare also rectangular so as to produce a. ribbon-like strip of theextruded product.

The flexible slide valve strip 13a is provided with suitable fingerpieces 17a and 18a and the housing 200 provides a snug enclosure for theslide valve. This housing can'be crimped at 22a to the tube in anysuitable manner.

The edges of the valve strip are guided between adjacent surfaces of theneck 11a and the housing 20a so that the valve can be operated by asingle finger piece by merely pulling on the finger piece to move thevalve in one direction and pushing on the finger piece to move the valvein the. other direction.

In Fig. 8 I have illustrated a flexible slide valve strip 136 which maybe provided with a plurality of orifices such as 14a of rectangular formand circular orifice 14. By such a construction it is optional with theuser to produce a cylindrical discharge or a ribbon-like discharge fromthe tube by simply bringing the proper orifice over the end of the neck.

The flexible slide valve strip being very thin serves to produce a sharpcut oil so as to avoid clogging up the cap. The outer end of the housing20 is also preferably quite thin so as to leave a minimum recess outsidethe slide valve for the collection of paste, etc. In the normal use ofthe device all the paste in the orifices 21 and 14 will, of course,beremoved.

In Fig. 9 I have shown a modified neck 11?) for a tube which is adaptedto be screwed on to the end of an ordinary collapsible tube which isprovided with a threaded neck. It

will be understood that thisneck 11b 1. A tube closure comprisin a neckhaving a rounded end with a disc arge passage therein, valve stripguides adjacent said end on opposite sides of'said discharge passage, e

a flexible valve strip extendin around end of said neck between saiguides and adapted to close the discharge passagein the neck, slidableover said rounded end and having a finger piece on at least one end ofsaid valve strip, a housing embracin the neck and valve strip and havinga disc arge orifice in line with the discharge passage m the neck andhaving a guide passage for said finger piece and means for securing saidhousing.

2. A tube closure comprisin a neck having a rounded end with a disc argepassage therein, valve strip guides adjacent said end on opppsite sidesof said discharge passagle, a flexl le valve strip extending around eend of said neck between said guides and adapted to close the outer endofthe discharge passage in the neck, slidable over said rounded end fromone side to the other and having a finger piece on at least one end ofsaid valve strip, a housing,embracing the neck and valve strip andhaving a discharge orifice in line with the dischar passa e m the neckand having a passage or said 51 er piece, said valve strip beingsupported etween said guides on the inner side by said neck and on theouter side by said housing and means for securing said housing in p ace.

3. A tube closure comprising a neck having a rounded end with adischarge passage therein, valve strip guides adjacent said end. onopposite sides of said discharge passa e, a flexible valve stripextending around t e end of said neck between said guides and havingparallel side edges and adapted to close the outer end of the dischargepassage in the neck, slidable over said rounded end and having a fingerpiece on at least one end of said valve strip,.a housing embracing theneck and valve strip having a discharge orifice in line with thedischarge passage in the neck and having a passage for said fingerpiece, the edges of said valve strip be ng supported between said'guidesat its inner surface by said neck and at its outer surface by saidhousing.

4. A closure for collapsible tubes comprising a neck having an outletpassage for a plastic com osition with rounded bearing surfaces lea ingto said passage from opposite edges and supporting surfaces along theside edges between said bearing surfaces and a bearing surface along atleast one side of the neck leading to the end surfaces, a flexible valvestrip supported upon and slidable along said surfaces, a housingenclosing said neck and valve strip and havin an outlet registering withthe outer end 0 the outlet passage in said neck and having a slot alongat least one side and .a fin er iece on the valve slide accessible throu-sa1d slot.

. WALTER ROSELLE.

